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Religion is a construct created by man to make himself feel better about death.
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The grammar is off, but the message is correct.
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Blessings.
Thank you KOB for your post. It is always good to ask questions such as these. I will not criticize or try to disprove anyone else's faith or non-faith, but share my own. I will unashamedly say that the foundation of my faith is based on a miracle, that is the resurrection of Christ. Was I there when Christ rose? No, but I have placed faith in the writings of the apostles who wrote the Scriptures of the New Testament. Why build my life on a book that is over 2,000 years old? For many, many reasons. One thing to remember is that God;s ways tend to be the opposite of our ways.
We say I'll believe it when I see it. God says believe and you will see.
Christianity is faith from first to last, but many other things that we take for granted every day are based on faith and trust as well, if you really think about it.
I was raised in a Christian family. I went to church every Sunday and midweek service. I used to love to read the Bible. Then when I grew into my teen age years, I walked away from God. I stopped going to church, stopped praying, chose the bottle and drugs, and almost every sin short of murder. I grew to hate God, and cursed Him out loud on many occasions. I blamed God and everyone else for my problems that I myself was causing myself. I became hateful, bitter, destructive and self destructive, ruining everything I touched. Then one night the change came.
I can't explain what happened, but that night my eyes were opened. I was in a period of deep despair and terror, and I called on the Lord to help me. The moment I called it was like a great light turned on. If you read the Gospel and Epistles of John, he talks a lot about Jesus being the LIGHT, and I experienced His Light that night. I saw myself, I saw into my own heart, I saw things about myself that I never realized were there...and more importantly, I saw that God loved me, and that Jesus' death and resurrection were more than sufficient to bring me back to God and change my life from the inside out.
That night, I gave my life to God, and He changed me radically. I have never been the same. Complete transformation.
I always believed the Bible in my mind, but it was not until I believed in my heart that it all became a great reality to me. I don't expect this to convince skeptics, but I thought I would just share why I believe what I do.
As far as using religion to feel better about death, I never worried much about death. Before I became a believer, the only thing I cared about was getting high to be honest with you.
...and going back to the apostles that wrote the New Testament, almost every one of them gave their life for what they believed. Some were killed by stoning, crucifiction, beheading, etc. You may answer, people of other religions do the same, and that is true, but the apostles main message was that Jesus who had been crucified had risen from the dead. They claimed to be eyewitnesses of that resurrection, and they died for their testimony. Is this absolute proof of the veracity of their claims? Perhaps not, but it is something to think about.
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/10/14 12:14 AM.
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Read these questions and rate them using a scale from 1 to 8.
1 being disagree and 8 agree and the numbers in between variations, I would rate them thusly...
I enjoy reading about my religion. 8
· My religion is important to me because it answers many questions about the meaning of life. 6 - One reason, but there's much more to it.
· It is important to me to spend time in prayer and thought. 8
· It doesn't matter to me what I believe as long as I am good. 1
· I pray mainly to gain relief and protection. 2 Part of the reason I pray, but not the main.
· I go to my (church, synagogue, temple) to spend time with my friends. 7 - Going to church is both spending time with God (who is my friend), and fellowship with other believers (1 John 1:7) Rated 7 and not 8 because there are other reasons
· Although I am religious, I don't let it affect my daily life. 1 - A religion that doesnt affect your life doesnt seem like much of a religion to me.
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/10/14 12:28 AM.
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i don't see why evolution and religion can both be right.
i know its stupid idea of mine..but what if god created the things the way they are...and waited to show himself once we evolved to the point we became intelligence species?
i dunno...something like that..
First I will address the comment in the way it was intended.. HUMOROUS 
As far as intelligence.. Straight from the Bible and before you or anyone reading this disregards what I am about to say, try doing this yourself!
Genesis 2:19-20 explains that Adam named EVERY living thing that God created.. Doesn't exactly portray the intellect of a caveman does it?
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God and evolution aren't mutually exclusive or contradictory.
God creating man from dirt or the whole seven days thing would be contradictory. I'm not really sure how many christians care that much about those parts of the religion anyways or if they are even considered the word of god to them. Seems like a pretty unimportant aspect of the debate about god to me.
On the contrary actually... Some of the MOST important and vital instruction that God has passed along to us is in Genesis... As respectful of everyone's beliefs as I am, Genesis is important to me because it shows us not only the reason that things are the way they are but also a way of peace...
Humor me if you will and picture this illustration... You have the presence of a human being lying in front of you.. WE as men and women would try to figure out how to make the heart beat.. Then we would question if we needed the brain activity before the heart beat.. But what about blood?? In other words, we wouldn't know which sequence to initiate first right?
Genesis 2:7 illustrates how God solves the above dilemma by simply breathing into the nostrils of Adam..
That is hard for ANY man to accept.. Hence faith steps in.. Either you have faith that it is BS or you have faith based off of knowing how small and insignificant we are as human beings and there is only one true God.. I for one choose the latter..
I mean to err is Human right?
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I have a question. Where is the other woman?
Genesis 1:27-28
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 2:19-22
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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I have a question. Where is the other woman?
She turned into a snake, like my ex did. 
#gmstrong
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jc You guys really like talking about evolution.... even when there are more interesting things to talk about. 
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Florida,
Great question and hopefully I will be able to explain it in a way that makes sense with you..
Genesis 1:27-28 Is explaining what God created on the 6th day which would include the actual creation of man and woman... He was DONE with creation after the 6th day and as explained He then "rested" on the 7th day.. This statement often gets "confused" with the kind of rest that we affiliate with sleep.. Simply stated, His "rest" on day 7 was describing completion...
Genesis 2:19 goes into detail on HOW the creation of man on day 6 occurred..
It is important to note that Moses was the author of Genesis and that God instructed him what to document.. God felt it significant to detail this to Moses so that we could comprehend just the amount of thought that our Creator had for us while we were created...
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Quote:
I have a question. Where is the other woman?
Genesis 1:27-28
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 2:19-22
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The accounts of Genesis 1:27-28 and 2:19-22 are two cpmplementary accounts of the same events
Genesis 1 and 2 are not chronological, but they are complementary.Genesis 1 is a panorama of the creation, while Genesis 2 is a more detailed account of the creation of man.
Something to consider...In Genesis 1-2:4, God is called Elohim (translated God), but beginning in 2:5 on, He is called YHWH Elohim. This marks a clear division in the text, not a chronological division, but a change in emphasis. *Elohim and YHWH Elohim are the same God. The creation accounts are not two different creation accounts any more than there are two different Gods. It is a shift in emphasis.
The chapter and verse diviisions were not in the Bible when it was written. They were added later. Try looking at Genesis 1 and 2 without being influenced by chapter divisions, at the same time remembering that there is a clear shift in emphasis between Genesis 1:-2:4 and Genesis 2:5 forward.
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/10/14 11:05 AM.
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Quote:
Florida,
Great question and hopefully I will be able to explain it in a way that makes sense with you..
Genesis 1:27-28 Is explaining what God created on the 6th day which would include the actual creation of man and woman... He was DONE with creation after the 6th day and as explained He then "rested" on the 7th day.. This statement often gets "confused" with the kind of rest that we affiliate with sleep.. Simply stated, His "rest" on day 7 was describing completion...
Genesis 2:19 goes into detail on HOW the creation of man on day 6 occurred..
It is important to note that Moses was the author of Genesis and that God instructed him what to document.. God felt it significant to detail this to Moses so that we could comprehend just the amount of thought that our Creator had for us while we were created...
Good answer.
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Sorry, I forgot my  after my question.  It's something I was asked a while back by a friend who claims to be Athiest (although I tried to explain that his views are actually Agnostic, not Athiest). I eventually explained to him that Gen 1 is a synopsis of creation, and the rest is the story of mankind. He has brought up many stories that seem to contradict each other or seem to have inconsistancies, and to be honest I've had to re-read a few myself and think of it from his point of view to understand why he thinks it that way, which has really kind of given me more time to reflect on what my faith means. I still haven't figured out if his push against Faith is his way of trying to better understand it, with hope that something will open his eyes and allow him to believe without doubt. Many of our conversations on the subject of religion, lead me to believe this. Although I have told him, that nothing I say can or will convince him, and that it is not my job to do so, but that the Lord will open his eyes and heart when he is truly ready to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. But truthfully, I think he is not asking me these things because God wants me to teach him, but because the Lord feels I needed to learn and re-examine my own faith.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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j/c
I've stated this on these forums before, but it really seems appropriate in this thread.
I have always been taught to ask the question "not who is God, but what is God" in that everything we see, study, and learn is a manifest of his vision, therefore the everything is a part of him as well.
As that pertains to this thread, reason is and always will be a huge part of my faith/religion. There is nothing I have learnt nor disregard due to religion. I tend to be skeptical of new discoveries, but that is more to my learnings as an engineer/scientist, then from faith. Early discoveries are often (and usually) wrong.
Everything makes sense (hey, to me at least) when done within these confines. Now, there are many, many things that we do not know. And, this is where faith plays it's part.
In the end, we need both (and since this is becoming the scientist v. religious common debate). The scientist without faith and conviction will never emblazon a new trail. The religious man without reason will miss the beauty that God has created in front of us.
#gmstrong
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Faith is a choice, you either choose to believe or you don’t. For me it was a hard battle to understand mostly because 2 of my brothers converted to Islam when I was younger and tried to influence me with their opinions. I had a problem with the explanation of the Holy Trinity but one day I decided to just accept it “as is” and have faith that the answer will come one day. The answer came later and I learned that we don’t have all the answers and we never will. The only thing that we can do is have faith and believe. Have faith in the good times and have faith in the bad times.
I also believe that hearing testimonies from other people is very important because it helps reinforces my own faith as well as other people’s faith.
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Quote:
Sorry, I forgot my after my question.
It's something I was asked a while back by a friend who claims to be Athiest (although I tried to explain that his views are actually Agnostic, not Athiest).
I eventually explained to him that Gen 1 is a synopsis of creation, and the rest is the story of mankind. He has brought up many stories that seem to contradict each other or seem to have inconsistancies, and to be honest I've had to re-read a few myself and think of it from his point of view to understand why he thinks it that way, which has really kind of given me more time to reflect on what my faith means.
I still haven't figured out if his push against Faith is his way of trying to better understand it, with hope that something will open his eyes and allow him to believe without doubt. Many of our conversations on the subject of religion, lead me to believe this. Although I have told him, that nothing I say can or will convince him, and that it is not my job to do so, but that the Lord will open his eyes and heart when he is truly ready to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
But truthfully, I think he is not asking me these things because God wants me to teach him, but because the Lord feels I needed to learn and re-examine my own faith.
I have found this to be true in my own life as well. When we share our faith with sceptics (and also listen to and seek to answer their objections), it forces us to think deeper into what we believe. This facilitates spiritual growth, ( if we wait on the Spirit to reveal to us that which is lacking in our understanding). I sometimes have to say "I don't have an answer for you right now, let me get back to you", and then pray about it. God has never failed to give me a reasonable answer when I did this.
If you study church history, much of what we believe is the result of a process of apologetics. Often, the Bible was either ridiculed by sceptics or badly mistranslated or misapplied by some who professed Christianity, but it forced believers to face the issues squarely and search the scriptures to see what they (the scriptures) had to say on the matter.
We (all believers) are all in a process of growth, until we all reach the full measure of the stature of Christ. None of us have arrived yet, but the faithful are going in the right direction.
The more we study the Bible, the more we realize that the "alleged discrepencies" that some point out can easily be answered by a careful study of every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
We have received an annointing from the Holy One, the Spirit of Truth.
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/10/14 03:19 PM.
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Thanks for responding. Amazing how many people ignored those questions.
Too revealing? Or is it more of the need to push one's own opinion on others?
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Read these questions and rate them using a scale from 1 to 8.
I enjoy reading about my religion.
· My religion is important to me because it answers many questions about the meaning of life.
· It is important to me to spend time in prayer and thought.
· It doesn't matter to me what I believe as long as I am good.
· I pray mainly to gain relief and protection.
· I go to my (church, synagogue, temple) to spend time with my friends.
· Although I am religious, I don't let it affect my daily life.
Answers ALL my questions about my meaning of life
My prayer is of EXTREME importance.. Can't/WON'T go without it!
Being good has NOTHING to do with religion.. Isaigh 64:6 states that even our righteousness is but filthy rags in the eyes of God."
The last three questions would indicate one that is placing their faith in their works, not in their religion.. Sadly there are many out there like that making this dangerous choice..
Sorry for not answering earlier Verse.. Was going in order and I got busy with projects here at the house..
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No worries amigo..
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Quote:
Thanks for responding. Amazing how many people ignored those questions.
Too revealing? Or is it more of the need to push one's own opinion on others?
Are those the only 2 possible reasons?
I personally just don't care to take a survey on a forum, particularly since I feel most surveys can't truly be answered in a rate system, answers can be much more complex than that.
But I am curious why your survey is a scale of 1-8? It's an odd scale, is there a significance to that?
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Quote:
Thanks for responding. Amazing how many people ignored those questions.
Too revealing? Or is it more of the need to push one's own opinion on others?
My pleasure. I thought they were good questions.
Blessings
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Answers ALL my questions about my meaning of life
My prayer is of EXTREME importance.. Can't/WON'T go without it!
Being good has NOTHING to do with religion.. Isaigh 64:6 states that even our righteousness is but filthy rags in the eyes of God."
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You've made up this convenient idea that our civilization has based it's morals and ethics around these absolute or universal truths
I didn't make it up, that's what the Bible says.
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You made the claim that if God doesn't exist, neither do these absolute truths, and with your most recent statement, therefore neither do morals and ethics from which we derive altruistic behavior.
Close but not quite. I did say that if God doesn't exist, then neither does absolute truth and I think you have proven that by saying that these things are evolutionary... which is to say they could have, under different influences, evolved differently, therefore they are not absolute.
And I never said that morals and ethics don't exist, I just said that they are more arbitrary, more contrived...
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Do things like morals and ethics have a neurological basis? I think we're at the point where we can begin to say that, yes, our morals and ethics derive in large part from the way our brains are set up (we're still parsing out the exact mechanisms by which different modules within the brain interact, which is why this new Connectome initiative that was started by Obama is so cool).
I could have agreed with you from the start that our morals and ethics have a neurological basis.... God is love, God created us, we are born in the image of God.... Of course we are born with a moral compass.
Which is probably why we will never agree on this issue... I start with the premise that we were created by God, for a purpose, you start from the premise that we evolved from nothing... going to be hard for us to agree on exactly why we act the way we do... outside of discussing societal influences...
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we're talking about physics, biology, and chemistry here. All of these have definite answers that are incontrovertible. To disregard these incontrovertible facts is ludicrous.
I don't disregard them, I enjoy learning about science.. but if you start from the premise that science just happened and we are trying to figure out why and how it happened... and I start from the premise that God created it and we are just figuring it out, then it's going to be hard for us to agree.
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We are no more, or less advanced evolutionarily than anything else on this planet. Therefore to say someone, or something, has the right to rule over the rest because they can dominate and subjugate others based off of "being more evolved" is just wrong. Maybe you think biology and evolution say that, but that's your problem, not biology's.
I believe we rule over the species of the earth because God created it that way... I suppose I understand your point, a mouse is perfectly suited to be a mouse and serve its purpose in the course of things.. so in that I will agree with you... So I never really believed that we are "more evolved".. it was actually a failed attempt to explain faith using evolution as a basis... poorly done on my part.
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It's not as if we're born with a blank slate for our mind, we have default settings, instincts. A tendency towards sociability and living within the confines of a group is one of them.
I totally agree... though I suspect we will have to disagree on where that tendency and those default settings come from.
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And you placed arbitrary constrictions on the example to make the answer more black and white. It's relative.
Some things are black and white. The whole scenario was arbitrary, to mean I made it up to make a point.... a point you still haven't answered... make up whatever scenario you want.. you and me alone, one of us has to die, the other gets to live... would you kill me, or allow me to die so that you might live? Let me try to make it simpler... a guy has a gun to your head, if you push the button, I will die, if you don't he will shoot you but I get to live... what do you do?
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That's the failing of the idea that ethics can always provide us with absolute truth.
I do not believe that ethics can always provide us with absolute truth.. I believe there is absolute truth and I believe there are morals and ethics which have a foundation in absolute truth but also ebb and flow with societal changes.
yebat' Putin
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You've made up this convenient idea that our civilization has based it's morals and ethics around these absolute or universal truths
I didn't make it up, that's what the Bible says.
I would like some verses if you please. All I can get into my head at the moment is this long running idea of sinning against God's true nature, which keeps us from having a relationship with God. Things that we do quite naturally from an early age and continue doing until we die.
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Do things like morals and ethics have a neurological basis? I think we're at the point where we can begin to say that, yes, our morals and ethics derive in large part from the way our brains are set up (we're still parsing out the exact mechanisms by which different modules within the brain interact, which is why this new Connectome initiative that was started by Obama is so cool).
I could have agreed with you from the start that our morals and ethics have a neurological basis.... God is love, God created us, we are born in the image of God.... Of course we are born with a moral compass.
Which is probably why we will never agree on this issue... I start with the premise that we were created by God, for a purpose, you start from the premise that we evolved from nothing... going to be hard for us to agree on exactly why we act the way we do... outside of discussing societal influences...
Evolved from nothing? It's better to say I believe that there is a natural, plausible and provable explanation for how life began which doesn't require the an all-powerful being breaking the laws of physics to do it. No one will ever be able to show that there isn't a creator, you can't prove a negative, but scientists are well on their way towards discovering possible mechanisms by which life could begin.
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we're talking about physics, biology, and chemistry here. All of these have definite answers that are incontrovertible. To disregard these incontrovertible facts is ludicrous.
I don't disregard them, I enjoy learning about science.. but if you start from the premise that science just happened and we are trying to figure out why and how it happened... and I start from the premise that God created it and we are just figuring it out, then it's going to be hard for us to agree.
Oh, we can agree, I know scientists that hold onto faith while doing their job. However, they're of the mindset that the first two chapters of Genesis are insufficient when trying to understand our world. You would only have to follow their lead.
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It's not as if we're born with a blank slate for our mind, we have default settings, instincts. A tendency towards sociability and living within the confines of a group is one of them.
I totally agree... though I suspect we will have to disagree on where that tendency and those default settings come from.
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And you placed arbitrary constrictions on the example to make the answer more black and white. It's relative.
Some things are black and white. The whole scenario was arbitrary, to mean I made it up to make a point.... a point you still haven't answered... make up whatever scenario you want.. you and me alone, one of us has to die, the other gets to live... would you kill me, or allow me to die so that you might live? Let me try to make it simpler... a guy has a gun to your head, if you push the button, I will die, if you don't he will shoot you but I get to live... what do you do?
Some things are black and white to some people. My only point was that ethical scenarios are pointless because nothing is ever as simple as examples such as these. I'd like to think I wouldn't push the button, but studies show I probably would. One thing to keep in mind is we're at the point in our understanding of the brain that if I was hooked up to an electrode or two that were positioned in certain parts of the forebrain, someone could make that decision for me. They could literally influence my thoughts, and the overall outcome of the situation. In fact, we could take someone who is psychopathic and probably get them to spare you in this instance.
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That's the failing of the idea that ethics can always provide us with absolute truth.
I do not believe that ethics can always provide us with absolute truth.. I believe there is absolute truth and I believe there are morals and ethics which have a foundation in absolute truth but also ebb and flow with societal changes.
I guess i need a better explanation as to what exactly these absolute truths are, and how we're endowed with them.
There are no sacred cows.
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I would like some verses if you please. All I can get into my head at the moment is this long running idea of sinning against God's true nature, which keeps us from having a relationship with God.
We are born in God's image, God is love.. Genesis 1:27,
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Oh, we can agree, I know scientists that hold onto faith while doing their job. However, they're of the mindset that the first two chapters of Genesis are insufficient when trying to understand our world. You would only have to follow their lead.
I already have... and I understand their position, I hope they understand that Genesis was never intended to be a scientific account.
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My only point was that ethical scenarios are pointless because nothing is ever as simple as examples such as these. I'd like to think I wouldn't push the button, but studies show I probably would. One thing to keep in mind is we're at the point in our understanding of the brain that if I was hooked up to an electrode or two that were positioned in certain parts of the forebrain, someone could make that decision for me. They could literally influence my thoughts, and the overall outcome of the situation.
Yes they rarely are, but sometimes they are just that simple. While the rest is interesting, it is something I already knew and I'm not sure what it has to do with our conversation.
yebat' Putin
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All I can get into my head at the moment is this long running idea of sinning against God's true nature, which keeps us from having a relationship with God. Things that we do quite naturally from an early age and continue doing until we die.
Christians call this "depravity". It is a result of our fallen condition, actually inherited from Adam.
Romans 5:19- 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:12- 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
Death does not only mean physical death, it also means spiritual death, ie seperation from God.
Ephesians 2:1- As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
The Law of God (the commandments) entered, not to provide a way to be made right with God, but to show us our sinfulness and need of salvation.
Romans 3:20- Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Until we receive Grace, the Law (commandments) actually inflames and incites our sinful nature to lust, leading to sin.
Romans 7:5- For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.
The Law can be said to be a mirror or even a catalyst that shows us how far we are from God's standard.
Romans 7:7-8- 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.
Romans 7:13- 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
The purpose of the Law was to bring us to a point where we realize that that we are spiritually helpless and need a Saviour.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted.
Romans 7:24-25- 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
All of this is done to restore the broken relationship with God. Relationship (with God), not religion, is what matters.
Micah 6:8- He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Religion is man trying to reach God through religion or good works. Christianity is God bringing man back to Himself through Jesus Christ.
There is a parable in the Bible about wedding clothes in Matthew 22. The kingdom of heaven is often compared to a wedding, but in the Bible days there were certain garments required to enter the wedding celebration. In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to be perfect as God is perfect, yet none of us can attain to that. We are too poor to be able to afford the wedding garments. God has provided the wedding garments. Jesus was born, lived a perfect life, died in our place, the sins of those who believe are placed on His account, paid for, and His righteousness is laid to the account of all who believe.
Forgiveness and freedom is available to all through faith in Christ and what He has accomplished for us, and even what He is accomplishing at this present time, for He Lives.
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/13/14 01:48 PM.
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Good job buddy
I AM ALWAYS RIGHT... except when I am wrong.
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If you're not a minister you should be. Very well laid out. Concise and accurate.
#gmstrong
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Thanks for responding. Amazing how many people ignored those questions.
Too revealing? Or is it more of the need to push one's own opinion on others?
Are those the only 2 possible reasons?
I personally just don't care to take a survey on a forum, particularly since I feel most surveys can't truly be answered in a rate system, answers can be much more complex than that.
But I am curious why your survey is a scale of 1-8? It's an odd scale, is there a significance to that?
Ahhhh..............I mislead you guys. I apologize.
I didn't make those questions up. I got them after doing some research. I apologize for not letting you know that. I promise that I was not trying to deceive you. As far as the 1-=8 scale? I really don't know.
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Excellent post! I needed that this morning.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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Thanks to GM, DDubia, and Ballpeen for the kind words.
To God be the Glory.
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The Gospel Call.
Romans 10:9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[f]
Last edited by LA Brown fan; 02/18/14 05:50 PM.
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